Anyone providing out-of-hospital intensive care knows the difference from standard home care: a ventilation care placement is rarely filled through a relative's Google search. It is filled through referrers. The hospital social service running discharge management under Section 39 (1a) SGB V, the weaning centre, the ventilation clinic and the specially qualified contract physician decide who gets the call. These people work under time pressure. They open your website, scan it for a few minutes and look for hard facts: ventilation modes, tracheal cannula management, free capacity, catchment area, a direct phone line. What they usually find is prose written for relatives. This article shows how an intensive care website becomes a referral channel - with a dedicated page for hospitals, a care profile in numbers, named contacts and transparent prescription routes. Digitalisation is part of it: connection to the German telematics infrastructure has been mandatory since 1 July 2025, and from 1 July 2026 prescriptions must be issued electronically (Section 360 SGB V).
Key takeaways
- Intensive care placements are filled by referrers: hospital social services, weaning centres and specially qualified contract physicians. In discharge management the hospital may prescribe up to seven calendar days itself (Section 39 (1a) SGB V) - your window.
- Relatives and social services want opposite things, so a dedicated page for hospitals and referrers belongs next to the page for relatives: technical vocabulary without explanations, care profile and admission capacity within the first two screens instead of prose.
- The care profile works as a list: invasive and non-invasive ventilation, tracheal cannula management, staffing ratios up to one-to-one care, care settings under Section 37c (2) SGB V, catchment area in districts or kilometres, qualifications and cooperations.
- A dated status line on free places, a response-time commitment you can keep, and a named person with direct line, mobile number and a stand-in rule replace the generic form. A handover checklist and a document list belong on the page as dated PDF downloads.
- Prescribing runs on form 62B with treatment plan 62C and potential assessment 62A, which as a rule must be no older than three months; a first prescription covers up to 5 weeks, a follow-up up to 6 months, and up to 12 months where no improvement is expected.
- Telematics infrastructure connection was mandatory by 1 July 2025, and from 1 July 2026 prescriptions must be issued electronically (Section 360 SGB V); for intensive care gematik expects the rollout not before 2028 or 2029. Hospital logos without clearance stay off.
Who really fills intensive care places: the referrers
Out-of-hospital intensive care is a small but highly specialised segment. For 2019 alone, health insurance statistics record more than 22,000 cases (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss), and most of those people are ventilated. For comparison: at the end of 2023, around 5.7 million (Statistisches Bundesamt) people in Germany needed care, and roughly 86 percent (Statistisches Bundesamt) of them were cared for at home. In standard home care, relatives search, compare providers and call. In intensive care the path is almost always different: care begins in hospital, in the intensive care unit or in a weaning centre - and that is where it is decided which provider even makes the shortlist.
The decisive lever is discharge management. Under Section 39 (1a) SGB V, hospitals must organise the transition into follow-up care, and they may themselves prescribe home nursing care and out-of-hospital intensive care for up to seven calendar days (Section 39 (1a) SGB V). The framework contract on discharge management between the GKV-Spitzenverband, the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung and the Deutsche Krankenhausgesellschaft came into force on 1 October 2017 (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung) and has been amended continuously since. Those seven days are your window. Within that span the social service needs to know whether you can take the case - and your website is often the first stop of that check, before any phone call.
Hospital social service
Organises discharge under Section 39 (1a) SGB V and looks, under time pressure, for a provider that covers the specific ventilation profile. Checks your website for facts, not for emotion.
Weaning centres and ventilation clinics
Accompany weaning from ventilation and decannulation. They hand patients over to providers that credibly describe tracheal cannula management and cooperation with the centre.
Prescribing practices
Specially qualified contract physicians issue the prescription (Section 37c SGB V). They need a provider that knows prescription routes, forms and deadlines and thinks along actively.
The framework of out-of-hospital intensive care
Before you write content, it pays to look at the legal framework - because that framework is exactly what your counterpart has in mind. The entitlement to out-of-hospital intensive care is set out in Section 37c SGB V and applies to insured people with a particularly high need for medical treatment care who require the constant presence of a suitable nursing professional. The service requires a prescription from a contract physician who is specially qualified for this care (Section 37c SGB V). The details are governed by the Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss in its directive on out-of-hospital intensive care, whose first version was adopted on 19 November 2021 (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss).
Insured people with a particularly high need for medical treatment care are entitled to out-of-hospital intensive care if the constant presence of a suitable nursing professional is required.
The place of care matters for your website. Section 37c (2) SGB V names four constellations: inpatient care facilities, facilities under Section 43a SGB XI, residential units within the meaning of Section 132l (5) no. 1 SGB V - that is, the intensive care living community - and the person's own household, their family or another suitable place, in particular assisted living arrangements. A social service must see at a glance which of these you serve. If you offer both home care and an intensive care living community, present both separately and with capacity figures instead of blending them into one paragraph.
The framework in numbers
- Form 62A: result of the potential assessment regarding weaning from ventilation or decannulation (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung)
- Form 62B: the actual prescription of out-of-hospital intensive care (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung)
- Form 62C: the treatment plan attached to the prescription (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung)
- For insured people receiving out-of-hospital intensive care for the first time from 1 July 2025, the rules on potential assessment apply without restriction (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss)
- For those already cared for by 30 June 2025, a potential assessment is not mandatory; follow-up prescriptions are possible for up to 12 months (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss)
Two audiences, two pages: separating relatives and hospitals
The most common mistake on websites for intensive and ventilation care is trying to serve both audiences on one page. Relatives need orientation, language without jargon and the feeling that the people here can be trusted with a loved one. The social service needs the opposite: density, precision, numbers. Mixing both loses both. The relatives' page becomes too technical, the referrer page too soft - and the social service moves on to the next provider.
The solution is structural and costs no additional visibility: a dedicated page called "For hospitals and referrers", linked prominently in the main navigation of your website for intensive and ventilation care, next to the existing page for relatives. Both pages describe the same care, but at different resolution and in a different order. How this fits into a clean site architecture is covered in our article on the structure of a care service website.
| Element | Page for relatives | Page for hospitals and referrers |
|---|---|---|
| Entry point | Situation and reassurance: what happens now? | Care profile and admission capacity within the first two screens |
| Language | Everyday language, technical terms explained | Technical language without explanation: invasive, non-invasive, decannulation |
| Ventilation | What ventilation at home means | Ventilation modes, device experience, cannula management, 1:1 staffing |
| Contact | Callback request and consultation appointment | Named contact with direct line and availability hours |
| Capacity | Clarified during the conversation | Current status: free places, catchment area, response time |
| Documents | Understandable first information | Handover checklist and document list as PDF |
| Prescription | Briefly explains who prescribes | Forms 62A, 62B, 62C, deadlines and a contact for queries |
A care profile in numbers instead of marketing phrases
"We care for you with warmth and competence around the clock" tells a social service nothing. The question is: can you take this patient, with this device, this cannula and this staffing ratio, starting Friday? A care profile answers that in list form, not in prose. It is the most important block on the referrer page, belongs at the top and should be readable in under a minute. Every entry must reflect reality and be maintained regularly - an outdated profile costs you trust on the second case.
- Ventilation modes: invasive and non-invasive, with or without tracheal cannula, named device experience
- Tracheal cannula management including change intervals, suctioning and emergency procedures
- Staffing ratio: 1:1 care at home, different ratios in the living community
- Places of care under Section 37c (2) SGB V: own home, intensive care living community, assisted living
- Catchment area in kilometres or districts, not as a vague regional description
- Team qualification profile: specialist further training, share of registered nurses, onboarding concept
- Cooperations: weaning centre, ventilation clinic, medical aid supply, physician network
- Additional care: paediatric intensive care, palliative support, coma vigil, weaning over time
The two-minute test
Showing admission capacity and response time
For the social service the key question is not how well you care, but whether you can. Providers that make admission capacity visible save them the pointless call - and that is exactly what they will remember on the next case. This does not require a live database. A maintained status line with a date is enough: free capacity at home, free places in the living community, as of today. If nothing is available, write exactly that, plus when this is expected to change. Honesty is not a disadvantage here; it is the basis for the second call.
The second factor is response time. State a promise you can keep, for example a reply on the same working day for enquiries received before a set time. Phrase it as a commitment of your organisation, not as an absolute claim that rules out every exception. Technically, the page also has to load quickly on a hospital workstation and on a phone; how that works is described in our article on loading times and Core Web Vitals for care websites.
Status line with a date
One sentence with an as-of date: how many places are free at home and in the living community? Without a date any capacity statement looks unreliable; with one it becomes a basis for decisions.
Response time as a commitment
A concrete, sustainable commitment - for instance a reply on the same working day for enquiries before 3 pm. Phrased as a self-commitment, not as an absolute claim.
Catchment area with boundaries
Districts or a radius in kilometres, plus exceptions. This saves the social service a query and saves you the enquiry you would have to decline anyway.
Availability outside office hours
Who can be reached at the weekend when a discharge is planned for Monday? A clear rule beats any around-the-clock claim without a number.
A named contact with a direct line, not a generic form
An anonymous contact form is an obstacle for a social service handling six discharges a day. They want to know whom to call, when that person is available and who covers during holidays. The referrer page therefore needs a named person with a photo, role, direct line, mobile number and direct email address - no shared inbox, no switchboard that transfers the call. That is the difference between a channel and a contact page.
Add fixed availability hours and a deputy rule. If you also offer a form, tailor it to the case: ventilation mode, tracheal cannula yes or no, desired start of care, hospital and ward, callback number. Because health data is involved, special requirements apply to data protection in care sector forms; data minimisation and a sound legal basis are mandatory, and the technical side of data protection on care websites is a topic in its own right. Also consider accessibility: referrer pages fall under the requirements described in our article on the accessible care website.
What the business card must show
Preparing the handover: checklist and document list
The transition from hospital into out-of-hospital intensive care is a logistical project: prescription, cost approval from the health insurer, medical aids, ventilator, home adaptation, staff scheduling, instruction of relatives. The social service coordinates all of this with many parties. If your website makes that coordination easier, you are no longer just a provider but a partner - and that beats any image brochure.
- First contact: named contact person, direct line, availability and deputy rule
- Case intake: ventilation mode, tracheal cannula, monitoring, desired start of care and place of care
- Feasibility response within the promised response time
- Document list: medical prescription, treatment plan, potential assessment, nursing handover sheet, doctor's letters, medication plan, aid prescriptions
- Cost clarification: application to the health insurer, responsibilities, typical processing routes
- Home visit and assessment of the living situation, coordination with the medical aid supplier
- Staff scheduling and team instruction on device and patient
- Start of care with a handover protocol and a fixed report back to the hospital
These steps belong on the referrer page as a download: a one-page handover checklist and a document list. Both should carry your logo, the date of the last update and the direct line of your contact person. A social service that keeps this PDF on file will remember you on the next ventilation case - regardless of whether they open your website again. Such downloads are also strong content for local visibility; how to use that systematically is shown in our service for local SEO for care services.
Making prescription routes transparent
Prescription questions are the most common cause of delay. Answering them on your website relieves social services and practices alike. Since 1 January 2023 (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung), prescriptions for out-of-hospital intensive care can be issued on form 62B with the treatment plan on form 62C. The potential assessment on form 62A checks whether weaning from ventilation or decannulation is possible; at the time of prescribing it must generally be no older than three months (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung). Physicians can bill separate services for the potential assessment and for patient-centred case conferences (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung).
Form 62A - potential assessment
Documents the potential for weaning from ventilation or decannulation. Required before prescribing for ventilated or tracheotomised insured people, with exceptions for those cared for before 30 June 2025 (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss).
Form 62B - prescription
The actual prescription of out-of-hospital intensive care. Initial prescription by a practice up to 5 weeks, follow-up prescription up to 6 months, and up to 12 months where there is no prospect of improvement (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung).
Form 62C - treatment plan
Attached to the prescription and describing the concrete care. For your team it is the basis of scheduling - and a good reason to show on the website how you work with it.
New since 2026: follow-up prescriptions via video consultation
Digitalisation as an argument: telematics infrastructure and e-prescription
Hardly anything lowers the barrier at the social service as effectively as evidence that your digital routes work. The legal position is clear: providers of home nursing care under Section 37 SGB V and of out-of-hospital intensive care under Section 37c SGB V had to connect to the telematics infrastructure by 1 July 2025 (Section 360 (8) SGB V). gematik, the responsible national agency, names the same date for home care services, inpatient facilities and day care; the costs are covered by TI flat rates from the health insurers, and the Federal Ministry of Health decides on any sanctions - according to gematik, none are planned so far (gematik).
The next step follows soon. From 1 July 2026, prescriptions for home nursing care under Section 37 SGB V and for out-of-hospital intensive care under Section 37c SGB V must be issued electronically, and providers must deliver their services on the basis of an electronic prescription (Section 360 (5) SGB V). gematik released the functional specification for the electronic prescription of home nursing care on 20 November 2025 (gematik); it replaces the previous paper form 12. For out-of-hospital intensive care, gematik explicitly notes in the same document that the technical specification is scheduled for a later point on its roadmap, presumably not before 2028 or 2029 (gematik). This gap between the statutory deadline and the technical rollout is exactly what you should know - and neither conceal nor over-interpret on your website.
How to phrase it defensibly
Evidence without legal risk
Referrers look for evidence, and this is exactly where many websites slip into legal trouble. Hospital logos without written approval are a classic: they suggest a recommendation that does not exist and can become a problem under both trademark and competition law. Success promises are equally sensitive, for instance claims about weaning rates or permanently secured care. What you may actually show, and how to handle healthcare advertising law and imprint duties cleanly, is covered in our article on the legally compliant care website.
Evidence better avoided
- Describe cooperations only with approval and name the nature and scope of the collaboration concretely
- Use anonymised course descriptions instead of case studies with invented figures
- Support qualifications with further training titles and shares instead of superlatives
- Name certifications with the issuing body and validity period, not as a decorative seal
- For legal frameworks, point to the source - G-BA, KBV or the statute itself
- Keep capacity and status information current; an outdated date is worse than none
The implementation plan for your referral track
You do not need a complete rebuild for this track. In most cases an additional page with a clear job, two downloads and an honest status line is enough - provided your existing care website is technically sound. If the existing site is outdated, a care website relaunch can be the more efficient route, because structure, loading time and accessibility need review anyway. Work through the following steps in this order:
- Name your referrers: which hospitals, weaning centres, ventilation clinics and practices actually bring you cases?
- Capture the care profile in numbers: ventilation modes, cannula management, staffing ratios, places of care, catchment area
- Create a dedicated "For hospitals and referrers" page and place it in the main navigation next to the relatives' page
- Define the contact person: photo, role, direct line, mobile number, direct email address, hours, deputy
- Introduce a status line with a date and agree a fixed routine for maintaining capacity information
- Produce the handover checklist and document list as PDFs, with a date and a direct line
- Explain prescription routes: forms 62A, 62B, 62C, deadlines, follow-up prescriptions via video consultation
- Evidence your digitalisation: state the TI connection and describe how you handle electronic prescriptions from 1 July 2026
- Check the legal frame: approvals for naming cooperations, no success promises, data protection for case enquiries
- Follow up after eight weeks: what does the social service still ask? Those questions belong on the page
The referral track also works internally. Nursing professionals with intensive care experience recognise from a precise specialist page that real clinical work happens here - an argument your career page can pick up. If you also have junior staff in mind, our article on nursing assistant training from 2027 on your website offers the right follow-on, and if you are developing the relatives' side in parallel, read our article on guide pages around the 2026 relief budget. How new legal competences translate into service texts is shown in our article on the Nursing Competence Act 2026. If you are unsure which content will work first in your case, we can clarify that in a personal conversation or based on our service overview.
Sources and studies